Hey everyone, my name is Jason Rafferty, I’m an Applied Assistant Professor of Art at the University of Tulsa and a Faculty Fellow with the Interdisciplinary Humanities Research Seminar on Space. In this short visual essay, I’ll be sharing some very recent work and research that I have going on in the studio.
Over the last year, I’ve been developing a series of atmospheric abstract paintings exploring themes related to sustainability and the landscape, titled Nature Catalysis. This work takes inspiration from scientific illustrations on the covers of research journals that publish on innovations in sustainable energy. The title of the series comes from the chemistry journal of the peer-reviewed scientific publication Nature.
I’ve been considering the idea of a catalyst, or a substance which is introduced into a chemical reaction to increase the rate of the process. Perhaps this can connect metaphorically with those unanticipated developments that get us closer to a sustainable way of living, which means net-zero carbon emissions. For obvious reasons, most of us associate climate change with feelings of anxiety.[1] To provide an emotional counterweight for my own anxieties, in addition to trying to adapt a sustainable lifestyle, I periodically search for breakthroughs in science that spark hope rather than dread. Specifically, recent discoveries in chemistry in the field of catalysis could help create a “circular economy” that transforms agricultural, municipal, and plastic waste into valuable resources, while curbing carbon emissions.[2]
As a non-scientist, I don’t always understand field-specific jargon, but I’ve nevertheless gained an appreciation for reading about things like chemists researching microbes that can eat waste plastics[3] and developments in carbon storage technologies.[4] And, of course, I love the scientific illustrations used to depict these potentially exciting breakthroughs. The graphic images tend to be over-the-top, with lightning bolts, molecules zooming through the picture, deep contrast, lasers, portals, and generally science-fictional imagery. “If you’ve got a story you want to get out there and you’ve got a really good image, it will fly a lot farther than just words,” Dr. Christopher Berry noted in an article about scientific illustrations published in Nature.[5]
Intriguingly, illustrators who regularly contribute to Nature, such as the artist Jacey, also create book covers for fantasy and science fiction stories. These artists navigate the boundary between depicting real-world scientific breakthroughs and speculative possibilities. There is likewise a wealth of contemporary studio artists exploring similar territory related to climate change, biodiversity loss, atmospheric science and sustainability with their recent series, including Margaret Curtis, Odili Donald Odita, Christyn Overstake, Emily Somoskey, and Lindsey Halleckson.
Inspired by these images, my recent paintings consider the underlying chemical and atomic makeup of matter and the energetic fabric of landscape through flickering and weaving brushwork. The work responds attentively to observed light and the atmosphere of landscapes in the great plains of central Oklahoma, with their ochre prairie grasses and towering wind turbines, and also to the Atlantic coast off Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, where I attended the Pouch Cove Foundation Artist Residency while creating a number of these works. Mixed media collages incorporate composite materials created from post-consumer waste, such as cork and rubber from discarded sandals and plastics from shampoo bottles, in addition to salvaging and repurposing fragments of prior artworks.
I’m excited to keep developing this emerging series and integrate themes from the Interdisciplinary Humanities Research Seminar on Space into the imagery! As the work continues, you can follow updates via the portfolio page on my website here.
Footnotes
[1] For those interested in humanities research which explores alternative emotional possibilities in relation to climate change, Nicole Seymour’s Bad Environmentalism: Irony and Irreverence in the Ecological Age “traces a tradition of ironic and irreverent environmentalism, asking us to rethink the movement’s reputation for gloom and doom.” https://www.upress.umn.edu/9781517903893/bad-environmentalism/
[2] Griffith University. “Can we revolutionize the chemical industry and create a circular economy? Yes, with the help of catalysts.” ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/05/240517111559.htm (accessed September 22, 2024).
[3] American Chemical Society. “Plastic-eating bacteria turn waste into useful starting materials for other products.” ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/11/231101134747.htm (accessed September 22, 2024).
[4] ® University of Texas at Austin. “New extremely fast carbon storage technology.” ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240708222253.htm (accessed September 22, 2024).
[5] J. Madhusoodanan. “Science illustration: Picture perfect.” Nature 534, 285–287 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nj7606-285a